nope, sorry, no takebacks
by swishandflickwit
Summary: "It's only me." Right, she chuckled nervously. It's only the Devil. In church. No big deal. —In which Ella questions her faith when she finds out the truth about Lucifer. 13th in The Devil's Lucky Number series.


**AN: No Deckerstar today fam, but I thought this timely as Easter/Passover comes to a close.**

**Have some Ella & Lucifer friendship fluff!**

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"Thought I'd find you here."

Ella jumped.

At the other end of her pew, Lucifer held his hands up placatingly.

"It's only me."

_Right, _she chuckled nervously. _It's _only _the Devil. In _church.

_No big deal._

He smirked, though the mirth was short-lived when he extended his palm—

"You left this at the precinct."

—and revealed her necklace.

"I thought it prudent to return it to its rightful owner."

"Rightful owner, huh?" she glimpsed it, though made no further move at retrieving it. "Not really sure if that's me, buddy."

"Odd," he sighed as he sat. "I thought for sure you were Ella Lopez," his gaze narrowed playfully at her. "Are you not?"

She cracked a smile, despite the leaden weight in her gut, then settled onto the space beside him. He stretched his arm along the top of the bench behind her, her chain dangling from his fingertips.

For a while it seemed he was content to sit in silence with her, which was new for them both, true—but she refused to break it first.

"I should think," he conceded, and she would have cheered if his chosen point of conversation hadn't been the very topic she wanted to avoid, "that this confirmation of your beliefs would have you singing His praises."

She sighed.

He nudged her shoulder. "Lighten up," he cajoled.

Tears sprung to her eyes instead.

"How can I? After everything He's done to you?"

He startled.

"To _me?_"

She groaned. "You're not seriously expecting me to worship _Him _after what He put you through?"

"Rest assured, Ms. Lopez," he frowned, uncomprehending of her sympathy. "You needn't concern yourself with me," he waved flippantly, but she detected the strain in the movement anyway.

"It was a long time ago."

"That's not the point," she cried. "I _told _you. The day we first met, I said the Devil got a bad rap and I _meant _that. You _Fell,_ Lucifer!"

He flinched—she had just made the Devil _flinch._

She blanched.

"I'm sorry," she softened. "But how can I trust a Father who would watch his own _son_ burn at His behest—then trust He'll protect me in return?"

"If it helps," he teased. "He likes your lot much better than He does me."

She shook her head, dislodging the tears that had been lining her eyes.

"How can you joke about this?"

"How can I not?" he returned, clearly uncomfortable with her emotional display yet achingly gentle when he brushed a couple tears away.

"It was a long time ago," he repeated. "And all that? That's between me and my old man, just as I would never presume to encroach upon your faith in His grace."

"I should hate Him."

Even as she said it, her heart croaked in protest.

"Do you?"

Her answer was in the burdensome quiet.

"Ella," he soothed. "I never have—nor will I ever—begrudge you your relationship with Him. Tell me, have you ever felt as if He had forsaken you?"

"No," she answered honestly, though she felt pulled in opposite directions.

"Then please, darling, don't forsake Him—not for someone as inconsequential as me."

He offered her necklace again, and she wanted to attribute the serenity that overwhelmed her to its restoration—but she knew better.

She was at peace, and she had Lucifer to thank for it.

"You aren't, you know," she said, succumbing to her urge to hug him. He sank into the embrace.

"Not what?"

"Inconsequential."

"Oh," he exhaled.

She lifted her head from his shoulder so that he couldn't misinterpret her sincerity.

"Maybe He refuses to forgive you, but _I _do. _I've _decided you're worthy of forgiveness so nope, sorry," she barreled on at his sheepishly contrary expression. "No takebacks."

If anyone was inconsequential, it was _her—_tiny, expendable human that she was. But she knew he cared for her, even if he would never admit it. So she hoped, meager as it was.

He, too, would find peace in her forgiveness.

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**AN: Man, I love these two! Whether together or apart, but mostly together, they are my absolute _fave_ brotp on the show. Should there be any doubt, you should know that this was the longest one I had to cut down yet. It's like the longer I get into this, the longer the drabbles want to be which, no brain! Not the point!**

**Anyway, I have bigger Ella & Lucifer brotp stories in the works. This is just me testing the waters on their voices so to speak.**

**The Deckerstar program shall resume tomorrow. Hopefully. Lol.**

**Let me know what you think down here or on my tumblr (same handle) and I'll see you guys tomorrow!**

**To Devil'sMiracle17 on your don't hide away review: BABE, one thing I appreciate about you is that you don't pull punches so I truly appreciate the honest criticism! I _totally _agree with you on Lucifer's quasi-lackluster reaction to seeing Chloe. The original had him more confused _and _insecure and the foremost reason the piece was draining was cause I had to cut down _so much_, the casualties being most of Lucifer's dialogue and Chloe's reaction to his wings being out, so don't beat yourself up over the notion of 'lapsed judgments' because if anything, you read _me so fucking well _that you picked up on that! I have no one to blame but myself though, lbr, _no one _said I had to limit myself to 666 words lmao but it's a _challenge _for a reason, and you win some, yah lose some and in this case, I lost a tad. Though, I do console myself with my intention of the piece being very Chloe-centric one, so I played on _her _insecurities and her point of view more, and since it's in her perspective, who's to say Lucifer hadn't _really _been feeling insecure in that moment? I mean, _I _can say of course hahaha but like, if we didn't know any better then there would have been no way of telling the accuracy of her recollection. Plus, you're right, I wanted to maintain the _core _of them, which was they already _know _each other so well. It's like, for Chloe it's just... another piece of the puzzle of Lucifer that clicked. On the other hand, I hearken Lucifer's blasé reaction to Chloe's appearance, back to when he first revealed himself to Linda and granted her a wide berth in the aftermath. As much as he likes to remind everyone he's the _Lord of Hell,_ Lucifer is surprisingly submissive towards those he cares about in that he's always happy to take their lead and that's what I was going with this. Chloe came in there with the goal of making him stay, he acknowledges this, _especially _her initiation of touch, and allows everything else to fall to a place she desires. Also, I get sad every time I have to write insecure Lucifer huhuhu so I rather touched on his manic/playful side for fun. But anyway, gosh, I didn't intend for this to be a meta, I just wanted to assure you of your opinion! And to of course, share my gratitude. Your thought-provoking analyses of my writing only serves to improve it as it leaves me feeling better and more confident as a storyteller, and for that you have my eternal appreciation!**


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